Design firm Foster + Partners recently completed the Hangzhou Apple Store in China, a large, illuminated glass structure located close to Hangzhou's West Lake. The Hangzhou Apple Store is one of five new stores that Apple executives said had planned to be opened in the country before Chinese New Year 2015.
The Hangzhou Apple Store features a 15 meter high glazed glass box that shows off the glowing ceiling inside and glass staircases inside. The store's design has a calming effect due largely in part to its simplistic beauty and luminescent appearance.
Foster + Partners has had a relationship with Apple since 2009, when they completed the brand's Apple Campus 2 in California. The firm is continuing its work for the tech giant, as they are currently working on an Apple retail location in San Francisco.
Luminiscent Retail Havens
The Hangzhou Apple Store in China is an Idyllic Shopping Palace
Trend Themes
1. Luminous Architecture - There are opportunities to design large, illuminated glass structures that showcase simplistic beauty and luminescent appearance.
2. Calming Retail Experience - Designing a retail space with a calming effect can disrupt the industry by attracting more customers to shop and stay longer.
3. Global Retail Expansion - There are opportunities to ride the wave of global retail expansion by opening stores in emerging economies like China.
Industry Implications
1. Architecture - There are opportunities to work with retailers to design innovative and attractive structures that draw in customers.
2. Retail - There are opportunities to create a unique in-store customer experience that can disrupt the industry and attract more customers.
3. Technology - Technology companies like Apple can expand globally by opening large, innovative retail spaces that showcase their products in a unique way.